Hard copy original documents usually exist as a stack of originals in some logical sequence that is relevant for the document stack as it was originally created. For example, a sequence of a document stack might represent the pages of a book or report from beginning to end, a set of transaction documents in date order for a given period, or a collection of information in any order as sorted by the compiler. When republishing or reprinting of the document stack, or portions thereof, is to be done, a considerable amount of care must be taken to ensure that the original document's integrity is maintained; i.e., the page order, the condition of the original document, etc. Without this integrity, the value of the document for subsequent use may be greatly reduced. Conventionally, publishing system operations maintain the original document's integrity by utilizing one of the following three methods.
In a first method, the user physically and carefully separates the original document into those pages that are of interest (stack or stacks of interest) and those that are not (remaining stack or stacks). If the separation process is not simple; for example, there are many dispersed pages to be extracted or adequate page numbering does not exist; the user may insert tags, colored marker sheets or other such indicators into the remaining stack to show where the pages of interest should be returned. Alternatively, the user may lay out the remaining stacks and sections on large work surface to convey a logical sequence. After scanning the stack or stacks of interest, the user then manually reassembles all the original document stacks back into the original sequence.
In a second method, the user never physically divides the original document stack. Instead, the user loads the entire originally document stack onto a digital scanner, scans all the pages (those of interest and those not of interest), and then, using post editing functions, deletes all the unwanted pages. In other words, in this system, the user is allowed to view each page after it is scanned to determine whether to keep it or delete it from the stack of documents to be printed. This viewing and determination process may be carried out after the entire stack is scanned or after each page of the stack is scanned. This method allows the user to capture each page in the scanning process and selectively delete the undesired pages prior to printing.
A third method involves loading the entire document stack onto a digital scanner. However, prior to scanning, the user preprograms, via a user interface or control panel, which pages are to be scanned and which are to be skipped. Only those of interest are actually scanned by the system. Although the rest are passed through the scanner, the actual image capture operation is bypassed.
Each of the method described above are usable; however, each of these methods are far from ideal. More specifically, the first method is time consuming for the user and depends heavily on the user's diligence and organizational skills. Any mistake can result in the lost of the original document's integrity, or worse, portions of the original document being incorrectly reassembled with other portions.
On the other hand, the second described method avoids the problem of incorrect reassembly, but is inefficient. In this method, time is lost scanning or processing unwanted page images. Moreover, considerable amount of time is lost by this system electronically displaying images for the user to review and to make a determination. The electronic display method also utilizes considerable system memory that can be available for other system activities.
Lastly, the third described method avoids most of the problems with the prior two methods, but it introduces a new problem, the user must carefully count all the pages in the original document and carefully note the location of all the pages to scan. Besides the time it takes to do the counting, any error in counting; e.g., losing track or skipping a page; will cause the wrong pages to be captured. Although some documents may already be page numbered, that page numbering can only be used if it coincides perfectly with the physical page number of the stack. Often, this is not the case, as there are likely to be title pages, copyright pages, cover memos, inserts, etc. that are not included in the original page numbering scheme.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system for scanning a subset of pages from an original document stack without putting at risk or jeopardizing the integrity of the original document stack. Moreover, it is desirable that the scanning system captures the actual images to be republished or reprinted in an efficient and reliable manner that avoids the problems discussed above with the existing conventional methods.